KEISKAMMA ART PROJECT

Ahead of the next global climate meeting in Dubai, COP28, an artwork has been unveiled in Cape Town to highlight the threat climate change poses to human life, particularly for rural people.

The embroidered artwork has been done by 43 artists who live in the vicinity of the coastal town of Hamburg, close to the mouth of the Keiskamma River in the Eastern Cape. It has been named Umbilo in reference to the pumpkin vine – a symbol of the need to unite and spread the word about the climate crisis.

With funding from the government of Flanders, WWF South Africa commissioned the artwork as part of a community-based project focusing on alternative livelihoods and marine ecosystems.

Umbilo addresses the impacts of unpredictable weather patterns, extreme weather events, a decline in marine life, pollution and the negative impacts on physical and mental wellbeing. These, along with rural livelihoods such as fishing, raising livestock and growing basic crops, are brought to life in vivid colour in the work.

Umbilo will be exhibited in the South African pavilion in Dubai and upon its return to South Africa, the intention is to auction it off to raise money for further project work.

www.wwf.org.za